THE Queen and her family have revealed the weird and wonderful official gifts they received in 2013 - from breathtaking jewellery to an old wheel nut and a garden gnome.

The weird and wonderful gifts given to the Royal Family were revealed by Palace officials [GETTY]

Palace officials released details of presents given to the royals during official visits last year, providing an intriguing glimpse into the often widely differing approaches of those tasked with finding a token of respect and affection for the family that has everything.

They ranged from the extravagant to the everyday and sometimes frankly ridiculous but all were carefully logged and stored by the Royal Household's archivists.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the two senior royal ladies, the Queen and the Duchess of Cornwall, received the most lavish of presents.

The 87-year-old monarch will no doubt treasure a five-strand pearl necklace profferred by the president of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed, during a State visit to Britain in April. He also gave her a family photograph in a gold jewelled frame set on a decorative jewelled ostrich egg.

The controversial King of Bahrain gave her a clock set on a large green marble base with silver horse and golden palm trees at the Royal Windsor Horse Show in May, while Bangladesh's high commissioner handed her four enamel scarab beetles during an audience in the same month.

More prosaically, the Queen received a commemorate Oyster travel smartcard for the Tube when she visited Baker Street Station in March to celebrate the London Underground's 150th anniversary and, perhaps more unusually, an edible chocolate Windsor Castle and Irish State Coach when she went to the Mars factory in Slough in April.

Camilla too received a glittering array of jewellery when she joined Prince Charles on a tour of the Middle East.

Palace officials released details of presents given to the royals during official visits

The fabulously wealthy King of Saudi Arabia gave her a parure - a matching collection of jewellery, normally including a necklace, earrings, and bracelet but sometimes a tiara too - and the Sultan of Oman a necklace. Clarence House, which has a history of trying to block the public from finding out too much about official gifts even though they belong to the nation, refused to give any further details.

In India, the 66-year-old Duchess was given a mirror by nurses in Kochi and an elephant headress in nearby Aluva City, while the King and Queen of Jordan handed her a book, three glass ornaments and three trays of baklava Arab sweets.

Away from the cameras, US First Lady Michelle Obama gave Prince Harry a brown leather flying jacket at the White House in May during a US tour in which the sports-loving fourth in line to the throne received several pieces of sports kit including a baseball shirt in Harlem and an American football shirt.

They may have been practical but it is hard to imagine Prince Charles ever using the baseball cap he received during a visit to a UN refugee camp in Jordan. He may well treasure the ceramic figurine of himself with Postman Pat that he was given by the film company Rubicon in the same country though.

Prince Philip, a devoted ale lover, probably found a use for the bottle of beer he was given by the Cutty Sark Trust. It is less clear what Princess Anne made of gifts including an artist's impression of herself riding a moose, a garden gnome, and a book entitled Your arms remind me of pork luncheon meat.

Camilla received a glittering array of jewellery in the Middle East [EPA]

On the face of it, the Duke of Kent also fared less well. His list of gifts included a locking wheel nut from an old car on a presentational plinth from Aston Martin in Warwickshire, while poor Princess Alexandra, who spent much of last year off sick, included in her list of official gifts nothing: zilch, nada.

Official gifts belong to the nation and are not considered the personal property of the individual royals, who would otherwise have to pay tax on them. New rules preventing members of the Royal Family from selling or exchanging them were brought in after a 2003 investigation into the sale of official gifts by Prince Charles and his household via his trusted aide Michael Fawcett, nicknamed Fawcett the Fence.

Here is a list of some of the official gifts received by members of the Royal Family last year.

The Queen

A five-strand pearl necklace from UAE President Sheikh Khalifa,

Commemorative Oyster Card, to mark the 150th anniversary of London Underground.

Chocolate Irish State Coach, in honour of her visit to Mars Chocolate UK headquarters in Slough, Berkshire.

A 13lb artillery cartridge mounted on a wooden plinth, to mark her visit to the barracks of the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery, in London.

Three specimen New Horizon Elm trees, to mark the 60th anniversary of the Coronation.

The Duke of Edinburgh

Miners lamp, to mark his opening of Langley Park Primary School's royal garden in County Durham.

The Order of Canada, from the Governor General of Canada

A bottle of beer from the Cutty Sark Trust

Cufflinks, from Windsor Rugby Football Club.

A gold rose tie pin from Newhaven Chamber of Commerce

Prince Andrew

The Kill List by Frederick Forsyth, presented by the author.

Umbrella, from the Met Office.

Mangoes from the High Commissioner for Pakistan

Three golf clubs from hotelier Surinder Arora at a luncheon

An iPad mini from the Open University

Prince Harry

Brown leather flying jacket from Michelle Obama

Harlem RBI baseball shirt from the executive director, Harlem RBI

An oversized congratulations card for William and Kate

A 3D printed doll of himself, presented by the firm MakieLab in New York.

Bottle of whisky, sunglasses, military goggles and other items from Australia's Special Air Service regiment.

Prince Charles

Ceramic figurine of himself with Postman Pat, from the firm Rubicon in Jordan.

18 bottles of perfume, from an unnamed individual in Saudi Arabia.

Arabic coffee service, pistachios, walnuts and honey from the Sultan of Oman.

A yellow metal model of King Abdulaziz International Airport, from the airport in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

A baseball cap from the United Nations World Food programme in Jordan

Camilla

A parure from the King of Saudi Arabia

A necklace from the Sultan of Oman

An elephant headdress from the muncipal chairman of Aluva City in Kochi, India

An embroidered tablecloth and tea cosy from Rajagiri Public School in India

A book, three glass ornaments, and three trays of sweets from the King and Queen of Jordan